Mumbai University V-C Sanjay Deshmukh on his way out after C Vidyasagar Rao seeks his resignation

After the long delay in declaring results of over four lakh Mumbai University students, the call for the resignation of MU vice-chancellor Sanjay Deshmukh gained momentum. On Monday, the Governor of Maharashtra C Vidyasagar Rao cracked the whip and sought Deshmukh's resignation, failing which he could face dismissal, The Times of Indiareported.

According to the report, the provisions of the Maharashtra Public Universities Act could be invoked for his dismissal, if Deshmukh fails to resign from his position.

"We expect Deshmukh to resign in a day or two. If he fails to submit his resignation, due process of law will be followed for his dismissal," The Times of India quoted a senior official as saying.

The report noted that Deshmukh had met Rao at the Raj Bhavan to allow him to resume his work. However, Rao denied the request after meeting Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis and state education minister Vinod Tawde over the university deadlock.

File image of MU V-C Sanjay Deshmukh. Image courtesy: mu.ac.in

It is to be noted that according to the Maharashtra Public Universities Act, the results of every stream needs to be out within 45 working days.

With Rao's decision unlikely to change now, the Mumbai University is currently being headed by Devanand Shinde, vice-chancellor of Shivaji University, Kolhapur.

On 10 August, Shinde was given the charge of the university after Deshmukh was told to go on leave following the two-month delay in announcing results.

“I don’t know much about MU’s system and I haven’t had much of a briefing. But I plan to visit both the Fort and Kalina campuses of the university and understand the issues,” Shinde had told Hindustan Times after taking over the responsibility of the university.

While most of the results are now out, the results of at least 12,000 candidates are yet to be declared. The Indian Express quoted Rao as asking the university to “expeditiously" declare all the remaining results.

"Out of 477 subjects, results of 14 are still to be out. Even after 100 days of examinations, the university is still struggling to announce the results. The institution has so far announced the results for 463 subjects," a 19 September article on Firstposthad noted.

Here is a timeline of the Mumbai University fracas over the delay in results:

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